Greg Barnas, center, and his sons John, left, and Kevin at the scene of a fire in 2009.

In Oradell last weekend, donors gave 118 pints of blood — 14¾ gallons — for Wallington Firefighter John Barnas, who is battling Hodgkin's lymphoma and lost his primary blood donor when his father died while fighting a fire in February.

That’s a lot more blood than he needs, but none of it will go to waste.

Greg Barnas was a captain with the Jersey City Fire Department and a volunteer in Wallington and with the a Pennsylvania department in the community where he had a vacation home. His funeral was attended by thousands of firefighters from New Jersey and other states.

John Barnas has type-O blood, which makes him a universal donor, but he can only get the same blood type.

“People thought they needed to replace Greg,” said Patty Barnas, Greg Barnas’ widow and John’s mother. “There is no way that he would use so much blood.”

A drive in Fort Lee collected more than 6 gallons and another drive is set for Monday in Rutherford.

Barnas is in a unique position. For him, there is no shortage of blood donated specifically for him. When a patient receives blood, the bags are tagged with orange labels to let the patient know that the blood was given just for them.

“I can’t even estimate how many direct donations he’s received,” his mother said.

In part, John Barnas owes that generosity to the firefighter fraternity. Since he was diagnosed with cancer in 2010, firefighters he’d never met have visited him in the hospital, Patty Barnas said. The recent flood of drives is not the first for Barnas, and the response has always been overwhelming.

“It’s amazing that no one has given up,” Patty Barnas said. “Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined this … The response has been unbelievable.”

Blood banks work closely with John Barnas’ doctor’s to see how much he needs. Initially, he was receiving transfusions every week or so, but that’s changed. It’s been two weeks since he last needed blood, a sign, his mother said, that he may be getting stronger.

Even with 100 transfusions in the past four years, John Barnas hasn’t needed all that blood that’s been donated and marked for him.

Before the blood expires, the blood bank releases it for the general public, which Patty Barnas says is exactly what should keep happening.

“John doesn’t need all of it,” she Barnas said. “But they are helping so many other people.”

In addition to the blood, Patty Barnas has asked that donors take a moment to get tested to see if they are compatible bone marrow donors. While John doesn’t need marrow, it would help others, she said.